Delhi High Court's December 2025 Ruling on the One-Year Separation Waiver — What It Actually Changes

Most people know that the 6-month cooling-off period between the First and Second Motion in a mutual divorce can be waived by the court in appropriate cases — the Supreme Court confirmed this in Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017). However, a less discussed but equally important question is whether the one-year minimum separation period required before filing the mutual divorce petition can itself be waived or relaxed. A December 2025 Delhi High Court judgment has opened a cautious door to this question.

The Ordinary Statutory Position

Section 13B(1) of the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 says that spouses presenting a mutual-consent petition must have been living separately for one year or more. Section 14(1) ordinarily prevents a divorce petition from being presented within one year of marriage, subject to its proviso.

The Supreme Court's decision in Amardeep Singh v. Harveen Kaur (2017) concerns the separate six-month interval in Section 13B(2). The December 2025 Delhi High Court Full Bench decision addresses how the proviso to Section 14(1) may be used in an appropriate Section 13B matter.

The December 2025 Delhi High Court Judgment

In Shiksha Kumari v. Santosh Kumar, MAT.APP.(F.C.) 111/2025, delivered on 17 December 2025, a three-judge Full Bench held that the one-year period under Section 13B(1) may be waived by applying the proviso to Section 14(1). The judgment did not describe waiver as automatic or available on request. Its conclusions include:

• The Family Court or High Court may consider waiver of the one-year period.
• The court must be satisfied that exceptional hardship to the petitioner and/or exceptional depravity on the part of the respondent exists.
• The court must also apply the considerations identified in Pooja Gupta, including maturity, free consent, duration of marriage, possibility of reconciliation, frivolity, and misrepresentation or concealment.
• The one-year waiver and the six-month cooling-off waiver are separate decisions.
• If both periods are waived, the court is not legally required to postpone the effective date of the decree.

When Might This Exception Apply?

The judgment says waiver is not to be granted merely for the asking. The court may examine factors including:

• the maturity and comprehension of the spouses;
• whether consent and settlement are free from coercion or undue influence;
• the duration of the marriage and cohabitation;
• whether reconciliation remains possible;
• whether the request is genuine and free from concealment or misrepresentation; and
• whether continuing the marriage would cause the exceptional hardship or involve the exceptional depravity required by Section 14(1).

How This Differs from the 6-Month Cooling-Off Waiver

Practical Implications — What You Should Do

If you have been married for less than one year and wish to file for mutual divorce, the options are:

• Complete the ordinary statutory period: This is generally the most predictable route.
• Assess whether an exceptional application is supportable: The request must be tied to the statutory test and supported by the facts; agreement between spouses alone does not guarantee waiver.
• Verify the separation chronology and jurisdiction: The correct court, date of marriage, period of living separately, settlement, pending proceedings and evidence all affect the advice.

What About the Supreme Court?

Amardeep Singh (2017) dealt with the six-month period in Section 13B(2). The Full Bench in Shiksha Kumari recorded that no Supreme Court decision overruling the relevant Delhi line of authority or laying down a contrary rule had been brought to its notice. Before relying on the judgment, current Supreme Court and territorial High Court developments should be checked.